The Bronze Horseman

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1841

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Historical context

The figure of Peter the Great (1682-1725) looms large in Russian history because as tsar, Peter was a radical reformer who wanted to transform Russia, which had fallen behind in its development, into a great, Westernized nation. Implementing his ideas often required force in the face of entrenched opposition, but during his reign, Peter managed to strengthen the Russian navy, reorganize the army, and secularize the schools. He developed commerce, industry, and technology. He also won new territory for Russia in Estonia, Latvia, and Finland, and was victorious in wars against Turkey and Sweden.

One of Peter’s greatest achievements is the founding of Saint Petersburg. In 1703, Peter founded the city on swampland near the mouth of the Neva River, a large enterprise that required enormous manpower to cope with harsh and unforgiving conditions; tens of thousands serfs, conscripts, and prisoners died during construction. The poem highlights the contrast between Peter’s majestic vision of a sublime city and the impersonally destructive nature of making that vision a reality.

The Bronze Horseman, a monument to Peter the Great, was built in 1782 on the orders of his widow and ruler after his death, Empress Catherine the Great, who ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796. The monument depicts Peter, seated on horseback, pointing toward the Neva River, in a gesture that implies he is leading the nation forward, as his horse steps on a snake, symbolizing Peter crushing his enemies. In the poem, the statue’s meaning changes depending on who is looking at it, much as in his lifetime Peter was a polarizing figure: The satisfied speaker of the poem sees it as an impressive tribute to an important man, but the devastated Yevgeny finds the bronze horseman terrifying, haunting, and oppressive.

Saint Petersburg, situated only a few meters above sea level, has always been subject to floods. During the reign of Catherine the Great, the city’s embankments were encased in granite, to offer more resistance to the water. This did not, however, lead to the desired protection. In November 1824, Saint Petersburg suffered the worst flood in its history. During unusually warm weather, an ice jam on the Neva broke, sending out pent-up water with such force that the city’s sole dam was overwhelmed. It is estimated that 10,000 people died, 500 homes were destroyed, and 400,000 people were affected by the flood.

Literary context

The 19th century is considered to be the golden age of Russian literature, and Pushkin stands close to the beginning of this flowering of literary talent. Mentored by poet and translator Vasily Zhukovsky, Pushkin soon became the preeminent author of his time—and a practitioner of Romanticism, a literary movement popular in much of Europe in the early part of the 19th century. Pushkin forged a new path for Russian poetry, using colloquial language in many of his works that was different from the more elevated style that was typical of 18th century Russian poetry. He also excelled in a wide variety of poetic and other literary forms, writing odes, lyric poems, narrative poems, novels in verse, short stories, and even fairy tales. Pushkin’s works became and remain extremely popular; many of his phrases have become proverbial in the same way Shakespeare’s language has in English.

Romanticism as a literary movement emphasized several themes that appear in The Bronze Horseman, sometimes in opposition to each other. Romantics focused on the power and beauty of nature, and the importance of the individual in history. They tended to portray emotions as the most honest expression of one’s inner state. One particular interest that united all of these themes was the sublime—an experience that overwhelmed the aesthetic senses with awe, wonder, and terror. We can see all of these motifs in Pushkin’s poem. The personified river overflowing its banks in an attempt to inflict as much pain and suffering as it can on the populace of Saint Petersburg is a prime example of the unleashed and unstoppable power of nature in the Romantic imagination. The poem juxtaposes the psyches of two incredibly different men: Peter the Great, whose almost supernatural power flows through the city of his creation and the statue memorializing him, and Yevgeny, whose torment during and after the flood evokes pathos. The tsar is the great man of history—an extraordinary person who singlehandedly affects the world around him. Yevgeny is the man of emotion, who undergoes two moments of sublimity: the flood that ravages his life and the horrible otherworldly encounter with the seemingly animated bronze statue.